Can you complete a self-assessment even if you don't have to?

hock79

My partner has been renting his flat out since July 2010. We were going to do a self assessment form online due Jan 2012. Since I've realised that his earnings are less than £2,500 I'm now worried that we shouldn't have waited this long to deal with it as the direct gov site says if your earnings are under £2,500 the tax office can adjust your tax code to take from your salary. However have we left it too late to do it like that, because I have read that they take the money for that year (ie, tax year ending April 2013).

Can we do a self-assessment form anyway online, even though our earnings are under the £2,500? It seems like the easiest option to me to make sure everything is accounted for.

BoGoF

If the rental income is over £10000 before expenses then Self Assessment will be required.

If it is under £10,000 you should write now and declare the income and expenses for year ended 5 April 2011. A calculation will be issued and any tax owed will be collected via the 12/13 tax code. Also the tax code will be restricted going forward to collect tax in this and subsequent years using the 10/11 figure as an estimate.

In answer to your question you can still do Self Assessment if you want - have you registered for a UTR though?

hock79

Thanks for your reply. The income is under £10,000. When you say write to them, do you mean fill in a form, or can he just set it out in writing? Will that mean he'll be paying tax for 10/11 and 11/12 at the same time?

He hasn't registered at all, does that mean he's too late to go down the self assessment route now?

hock79

I'm confused by these two paragraphs:huh:

If you're new to online filing
If you haven't sent a Self Assessment tax return online before you must first register to use HMRC Online Services.
You'll need to do this by 21 January 2012. This will allow HMRC time to send an Activation Code to you before you start using the service.
You must send your online tax return by midnight on Tuesday 31 January 2012.

When to register
It's best if you register with HMRC as soon as your circumstances change. The latest you can register is by 5 October after the end of the tax year for which you need a tax return. The tax year runs from 6 April one year to 5 April the next.
If, for example, you have tax to pay on rent from a property in the 2010-11 tax year, you need to let HMRC know by 5 October 2011.
If you register late you may have to pay a penalty.

Pennywise

One is registering for online filing, the other is registering for self assessment. You have to register for self assessment first, then when you have your UTR tax reference number, you can register to file online.

hock79

Ah, it's a shame I only saw the first paragraph and didn't see the second one until today!